5 Pitch Pitfalls by Jeanne and Mark Simon

Jeanne Pappas Simon and Mark Simon, co-founders of Sell Your TV Concept Now, Inc., learned the hard way what NOT to do in a pitch. Working in the entertainment industry for more than 40 cumulative years, the Simons have given and received hundreds of pitches and interviewed numerous top television network decision-makers. The Simons share 5 Pitch Pitfalls — information they wish they knew when they started pitching.

Pitfall #1 – The Groaner
We dare you to open a pitch to network executives with any one of the following:
“It will make us all millions!”
“There’s never been a show like it in the history of TV!”
“It will be bigger than American Idol!”

The sounds you will hear are groans of despair from pitch-weary execs who have heard these phrases so often that their ears will bleed. We strongly suggest you hold the sizzle until last, or not at all, and lead with what your show is. One of the strongest and most compelling ways to engage your listeners is by sharing a story that might be told by your show, which gets them to feel something.

Pitfall #2 – Crashed
We know this next bit of advice will sound crazy, but here it goes: Don’t memorize your pitch. We’ve done it, and, trust us, it doesn’t work. You’ll spend way too much time to get every word, pause, and gesture just right only to have it work against you.

The big meeting comes and you get halfway through your pitch, when the exec asks a question, or a phone rings or someone comes into the room. Your brain registers ERROR and your lips freeze. You have officially crashed and to get going again you have to reboot! Nothing will suck the life out of a pitch than having to start over.

Think of a pitch as a two-way give-and-take, rather than a one-way download from you. You’ll know a pitch is going well when the execs care enough to make suggestions or ask questions.

Pitfall #3 – Bait and Switch
Executives assume that when they schedule a pitch meeting that you’ll be trying to sell them a show. All too often though, pitchers attempt to WOW execs with how many stuffed animals, lunchboxes, or backpacks the show will sell.

If you pull a bait and switch by pitching merchandise before the show’s concept, you will not like the consequences. You will look like a complete amateur, you will not sell your show AND you will have killed any chance of pitching to these people ever again.

Networks have entire departments whose prime directive is to make massive amounts of money with merchandise once a show has a following. Leave it to the professionals.

Pitfall #4 – Ignorance is Not Bliss
You’d be surprised how many people pitch shows to networks while they watch few shows, if any, on that very network. Woe to the person who pitches a show that is either just like a show that a network is currently airing or one that in no way fits within the network brand.

Network executives are intimately familiar with their own programming and nearly as equally familiar with the shows on competing channels. You are not expected to be as well informed as they are. However, you will score big points if you can pinpoint the exact spot in a network line-up for your show and be able to explain why your show is different; be sure to back up this information with examples of competing shows.

Pitfall #5 – Diva Disaster
A good pitch can go bad fast when you won’t even consider a suggestion from an exec. Don’t let a death grip on the details of your concept make you come across like a difficult diva.

In a pitch, almost anything should be up for negotiation within limits. Why not consider a female host or a change in location from Hawaii to Miami? If the execs want to change your show from a feel-good show about how little people have lives too to mud wrestling midgets, then you may want to shop it elsewhere.

A great pitch is all about the story. Let your enthusiasm and passion sweep listeners up for a ride that they will never want to end.

Jeanne Pappas Simon, a co-founder of Sell Your TV Concept Now, Inc., has produced over 450 episodes of kids’ shows, game shows, and reality shows for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, TNN, and others. Her original TV show creations have won more than 40 international awards and been distributed around the world. Plus, she and a partner were charged with the extraordinary task of creating an entire network, including every program, for Turner Broadcasting.

Mark Simon, a co-founder of Sell Your TV Concept Now, Inc., is an award-winning animation producer, storyboard artist, and lecturer who has signed over 20 distribution deals. He’s also the owner of A&S Animation, Inc. and Animatics & Storyboards, Inc. and has written several books that have become industry bibles: Producing Independent 2D Character Animation, Storyboards: Motion In Art, Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists, and Your Resume Sucks!, as well as articles for Animation Magazine, Cinefex, Filmmaker, and others. He has worked on more than 3,000 productions and has won over 40 international awards for the projects he’s directed and produced.